


How Much is That Doggy In the Window?

by JetGirl1832, tomatopudding



Series: The Hamilton Family Album [41]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dogs, Family, Fluff, Gen, Man's Best Friend - Freeform, Puppies, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-28
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-12-08 05:54:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11640309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JetGirl1832/pseuds/JetGirl1832, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomatopudding/pseuds/tomatopudding
Summary: The story of how everyone's favorite four legged friend became a part of the Hamilton family.





	How Much is That Doggy In the Window?

Eliza always noticed the rescue shelter when she drove past, since it was between their house and the grocery store, although she had never gone inside. Today, however, she decided to be spontaneous. She had taken Liam and Lizzie on the outing to the mall and both of them still had plenty of energy. Maybe, Eliza thought as she pulled into the parking lot, if she let the kids play with the puppies at the shelter for a little, they might tire out enough to have a nap.

"Mommy where are we?" Liam asked.

"How would you and Liz like to play with puppies?" Eliza smiled and lifted Lizzie out of her car seat.

Liam's eyes widened and he let out a gasp, "Really real life puppies?"

"That's right," Eliza confirmed, holding Lizzie in one arm while unbuckling Liam's car seat with the other. 

He grasped Eliza's hand and toddled beside her as they walked across the parking lot to the front door of the shelter. 

"Puppies, puppies, puppies," Liam chanted under his breath, "fluffy, fluffy puppies."

Eliza held in a laugh at his little song.

"Hi welcome to the Bethesda Animal Shelter!" they were greeted as they walked in the door.

"Puppies!" Liam proclaimed.

The worker, a blonde guy who looked to be just about sixteen, kneeled down to Liam's level and offered a dimpled smile. 

"You like dogs, little buddy?" he asked. 

Liam nodded vehemently. 

"Well, I've got some great ones here at the shelter that would love to meet you," the guy replied. 

He ruffled Liam's hair as he stood. 

"So," he said, "what's the purpose of our visit today? Business or pleasure?"

"Tiring out the kids enough for nap time to happen," replied Eliza.

The volunteer laughed, "Alright, I think I know exactly who you should meet."

He led them past several cages, some with singular dogs and some with larger groups, to the end of the hall. 

"Brace yourselves," the volunteer said. 

The room they stopped in front of has a wooden door with a small window in it. The door was labeled as "The Puppy Room" and it certainly didn't lie. Liam was in heaven as he rushed into the room and was almost immediately covered in puppies, letting out a bubbling laugh.

"Mama," Lizzie tugged on Eliza to be let down, "me play too!"

Eliza gently placed Lizzie on the floor and the girl crawled immediately into the fray. One puppy in particular approached Lizzie and licked her nose.

Lizzie giggled and gave the puppy a pet that was more of a pat, "Nice. Good doggy."

The puppy wagged it's tail before licking Lizzie's nose once again.

Eliza smiled brightly as she watched her youngest children play.

The puppy seemed to have attached itself to Lizzie, it's little snout resting on the girl's leg as she pet the short brown and white fur. 

"She's new to the shelter," the volunteer told Eliza, "She was dropped off with no note or anything a couple weeks ago."

Eliza let out a sigh, noticing that she herself was quickly falling for the dog too.

"She seems to be very good with kids," Eliza noted as she watched the puppy nose at Lizzie's hand the minute she stopped petting.

"Oh yeah," he replied, "We think that she might have been with a family and they just couldn't keep up with her. She's definitely a feisty one. In a good way."

"Well, considering her age the adoption fee is $175," the volunteer told her, "That includes all of her vaccinations, which are already done, and her spaying, which is also already done. You'll also get a temporary collar, tag, and carrier, but it's recommended that you get something more permanent once you choose a name for her. We've been calling her Lucy, be she's young enough that you could choose a different name for her."

Eliza smiled, "I think I'll let my husband decide."

"So, can I officially get the paperwork together for your adoption today?"

Eliza thought for a long moment. "You know what? You got yourself a deal," she looked down at his name tag, "Bryan."

Bryan smiled, "I'll be glad to give Lucy a good forever home."

\----------

The last few steps it took to get to the front door of his home were some of the easiest Alex ever took. Even after a long day at work, he would practically skip up those steps because he was looking forward to seeing his family again.

There were few things he loved more than walking through the front door and calling out to them, it gave him a real sense of home. 

"I'm home!" Alex called out, as usual there was the sound of his younger children dashing toward him... And barking?

"Eliza?" Alex furrowed his brow in confusion but before he barely closed the door behind him a brow and white creature came skidding across the hardwood floors seemingly out of control of its limbs.

"Um," Alex said eloquently as the creature, which he now could recognize as a dog, stood on her hind legs with her front paws on his leg and tongue lolling out, "This is...new."

The dog let out a bark and ran a few circles around Alex. He knelt down and scratched her behind the ears.

"Did a neighbor's dog get loose?" Alex called out as he heard human footsteps coming closer.

"Mom got us a dog!" Jamie exclaimed excitedly as he stepped into the foyer, "Isn't she cute?"

"She is," Alex nodded, he then scooped the dog up in his arms, "does she have a name?"

"We we're going to leave that up to you," Eliza appeared in the doorway.

"Oh," Alex said, looking down at the dog, which was still staring up at him with her head cocked, "She really is cute." He kneeled down and the puppy immediately jumped up and licked his nose, just as she had done for Lizzie at the shelter, causing him to laugh, "And feisty. Kind of like your sister. Hey," he looked up at Eliza, a grin spread across his face, "we should name her after Peggy!"

"Oh I'm sure Pegs will really appreciate that," Eliza rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on, it'll be fun," chuckled Alex, "Let's see...we shouldn't actually call her Peggy because that name is already taken. Margarita...Mary? Rita? How about Maggie?"

The puppy barked as if in agreement and started licking Alex's face incessantly.

"Maggie it is!" Alex beamed.

\----------

"So," Alex flopped on the bed, "any reason for the four legged addition."

"Hmm?" Eliza raised her brow as she tossed her cardigan into the laundry hamper.

"The dog," Alex said, arranging the covers over his legs and reaching for his reading glasses, "I mean, the kids have begged us for years to get a pet. Why now?"

"It just seemed right," Eliza replied as she lowered herself onto the bed.

"Eliza..." Alex reached for her hand.

Before Eliza could reply they were interrupted by a high pitched noise.

Alex stiffened, "Is that Lizzie?"

"I don't think so," Eliza said slowly. 

Alex slid out of bed and padded over to the door. As soon as he opened it, Maggie wriggled her way inside and gave a small yip.

"She must have been lonely," Alex smiled scooping her up and bringing her over to their bed and set her on top.

"How did she get out of her crate?" Eliza wondered. 

Alex shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe one of the kids let her out. But we can’t put her back in there now. I mean, look at her."

Without much fuss, Maggie had curled up with her nose tucked under her paws.

Eliza let out a sigh, "I guess for one night it couldn't hurt."

"Okay don't lie, if it happens one night then it's going to happen every night," teased Alex.

Eliza pulled up the covers, "Yes, but we have seven children, surely she'll find someone else to sleep with."

\----------

Eliza's prediction turned out to be true, as the next night Maggie found her way into Jack's bed and the night after that Alex found her when he woke Liam in the morning. The trend continued when Alex walked past Angie's partially open door to see Maggie happily snuggling with his oldest daughter.

By the time her first week in the Hamilton home came to an end, Maggie had spent a night with every member of the family. She had even managed to get into Lizzie's crib somehow.

It was becoming apparent how loved the little terrier was. Even sprawling across their laps during movie night. Maggie Hamilton was here to stay.


End file.
